1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a device for use in a surgical procedure. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a surgical suture clip applier adapted for securing sutures during an endoscopic or laparoscopic procedure.
2. Background of Related Art
In surgical operations it is well known that surgical sutures are applied to repair the body tissue. Such sutures generally are of the non-absorbable or the absorbable type and are generally applied with the use of surgical needles. If the sutures are non-absorbable, they may or may not be removed after an estimated predetermined healing period has passed. Absorbable sutures are absorbed gradually over time by coming in contact with moisture in the human body.
In many surgical procedures, application of sutures generally involves knotting or tying the suture after it is applied to the body tissue in order to retain its position with respect to the tissue and to maintain the tissue in the repaired position. In cases where the surgeon has full access to the operative site by virtue of a large incision, knotting the suture or applying knotting or equivalent devices is relatively simple due to the access provided by the incision.
In endoscopic and laparoscopic procedures, on the other hand, large incisions are avoided. In laparoscopic procedures surgery is performed in the interior of the abdomen through a small incision; in endoscopic procedures surgery is performed in any hollow viscus of the body through narrow endoscopic tubes inserted through small entrance wounds in the skin. Laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures generally require that any instrumentation inserted into the body be sealed, i.e., provisions must be made to ensure that gases do not enter or exit the body through the laparoscopic or endoscopic incision as, for example, in surgical procedures in which the surgical region is insufflated. Moreover, laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures often require the surgeon to act on organs, tissues, and vessels far removed from the incision, thereby requiring that instruments to be used in such procedures generally be both long and narrow.
In laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures surgical sutures are generally applied by directing and manipulating needled sutures through an aperture in the body or through elongated narrow tubes known as cannulae with the assistance of specially designed needle graspers, needle drivers, and the like. However, tying the sutures in such procedures can be relatively difficult due to the limited access afforded to the surgeon through the narrow tubes. In particular, since biocompatible, preferably bioabsorbable, sutures are generally used in such procedures it would be desirable to have available a cinching device and system that facilitates tying the sutures through the tubes in a manner to retain their position in the body tissue at least until the healing process is in full progress. The use of the term “endoscopic” herein contemplates endoscopic as well as laparoscopic procedures.